UKC

I need to get my car MOTed and I am not totally confident that it will pass but I am unsure of what my options are if it fails.

Obviously I could pay the testing garage to fix it but if I want to bring it home and fix something myself or take it somewhere else am I allowed to do that as it will then have no valid MOT and hence insurance etc?

Also do I have to pay for a retest?

In reply to BigBrother:

Retests are free, and you can legally drive straight home, and straight from home to the MOT centre for retest after you've done the work. All other rules about tax and SORN-ing it if your tax is going to run out still apply.

This is pretty much how I do things every year - I take the beast into local garage for MOT, it fails, I fix it and then they retest.

In reply to BigBrother:

usually I'd expect you to have to pay for a retest if you've done the work - they would obviously need to test your work. However it may depend on the work involved (eg. does it only take a quick glance to look at to see it's fine or does it take a bit of time?) and the garage involved. At the end of the day they're trying to make money, so they may not charge for the sake of customer service (I think a lot of garages are nice with MOTs as a way to get you in for bigger work when needed) or they may say "bugger that, it's doubled our time"

In reply to BigBrother:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-mot

In reply to BigBrother:

Also, not having an MOT will have no effect on your insurance.

In reply to Oceanrower:


I'm 99% sure you're wrong, apologies if not! OP, please check this before relying on it!


You can drive to/from an MOT with a failed certificate, but nothing else. Some garages may tell you different (mine did but I double checkced).

See "Driving a vehicle that has failed". Rules changed this year I think.

https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/after-the-test

In reply to NottsRich:


I love that link.

Typical gov contradiction.

You can drive it as long as its road worthy.

But failing an MOT is proof that it is not road worthy.

In reply to richprideaux:


This is not true unless: the vehicle failed on one or more items in a fairly limited list of specific things and the vehicle is presented before the end of the next working day; or the vehicle is left at the test station to be sorted out and the test is performed within ten working days. In both these cases only a partial retest is necessary.

For repairs carried out off site (other than for things covered by the list I already mentioned) a partial retest fee may be charged, the maximum amount is half the original test fee.

In reply to EddInaBox:

May be charged, but I don't think I have ever paid for a partial retest, over several garages in North Wales and Shropshire and about 14 years of driving. Maybe I've just been lucky?

In reply to EddInaBox:

"> This is not true unless: the vehicle failed on one or more items in a fairly limited list of specific things and the vehicle is presented before the end of the next working day; or the vehicle is left at the test station to be sorted out and the test is performed within ten working days. In both these cases only a partial retest is necessary.


If this were the case how would council run MOT stations work? They don't do repairs only tests.

This certainly isn't the case in any garage I've ever visited.
My car failed on loads of stuff this year (just like last year and the year before if i think about it), I took it home, fixed it and then returned to a pre arranged retest about a week later and was told that the retest is free as long as you present it within a certain time limit (which must be longer than 6 days if my garage are working to the rules).
The rules re. driving without an MOT are that you can continue to drive a vehicle up to the date that the MOT certificate expires, so if you present the car in the month leading up to the expiry date (the max time if you want to maintain your original date) and the car fails, you can take it home or to another garage for it to be fixed up to the date on the original MOT certificate.
You can also drive the car to a pre arranged appointment at an MOT station after the date that the original certificate expired.
Regarding insurance, I'm not sure, for the VOSA rules are legal then there must be some provision for this in the insurance small print, but, if you were to have a crash due to a defect on your vehicle that you are aware of then surely the insurance company would try and get out of paying. Maybe they'd just pay third party in this instance.

In reply to gethin_allen:

http://mottesting.org.uk/mot-retest-information-fail.html

A garage is permitted to charge a maximum of half the original test fee except for specific items, they may choose to charge nothing but they don't have to. It may be easier for them to do the partial retest for free and build goodwill rather than have an argument with customers who believe retests are always free.

In reply to NottsRich:

And I am 100% sure I am right.

However, depending on the Ins. Co. you will probably only be covered Third Party.

Haven't got time to look up the statute now but this has been discussed many, many times in the legal section on Pistonheads where there are more than a few lawyers who know a thing or two about motoring matters.

In reply to Oceanrower:



That is simply not true. There is a warranty in all road risks policy sections that requires the car to be kept in a road worthy condition. There are specific exclusions to allow travel to and from a test centre.

In reply to balmybaldwin:
Not quite I'm afraid. There is now a thing called continuous insurance which requires you to be insured even if your car is SORN.

Obviously if your car is off the road, it doesn't have to be roadworthy.

Here you go.

"Insurers are prohibited under Road Traffic Act 1988 section 148 (2) (b)from not paying out a third party claim due to the condition of the vehicle.

BUT a defect may make them come back at driver for some or all of the costs under civil claim or pay out less on a comprehensive claim."

I phrased it badly earlier . No MOT will affect your insurance but you WILL still be insured.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/148

In reply to BigBrother:

Thanks for the replies.

gethin-allen Having read the gov site someone posted that is my understanding; that I can drive it until the old certificate runs out even if it fails the new test until I fix any problems.

I know the brake pads are getting low but maybe still enough to pass. I have already bought new discs and pads but I am running out of time to fit them. I was considering putting it through the test and hoping they pass and if not I will have to sort them.

Being an old car of course they might find other things as well.

In reply to Oceanrower:

A good few years ago now, my van was nicked (from where it was parked, off the road on private land) a couple of weeks after the MoT had expired. Only when I came to claim did I discover that it said in the small print of the policy (paraphrasing slightly) "no MoT = no cover".

My broker was sure that the underwriter would waive that under the circumstances, as it hardly seemed relevant, but he was wrong: after making me fill in endless forms I eventually got single paragraph letter from them that basically said "You're not covered, goodbye."

In reply to deepsoup:

And, as I said, you will be insured. But, probably, only 3rd party.

Which, if your van was stolen, you weren't.

In reply to BigBrother:

The rules have changed so that once you fail you can't continue to use the car until it has passed the test, even if the old MOT has not expired.
The driving from the MOT has been made a greyer area but I believe it is still allowed and the driving to the retest must be for a booked one!

In reply to deepsoup:

That sucks fella! A few years ago I managed to put my car through a drystone wall and onto its side in a field in heavy snow. Due to a combination of garage and owner incompetence (I put it in for a service and mot but failed to check that they'd given me an mot certificate) my car hadn't had an mot for about four months. When the insurers asked me for the documentation I had to sheepishly ring them and explain I didn't have an mot. They told me that it would reduce their payout by 10%. I have never been so relieved (or as careless since)

In reply to angry pirate:


There is no logic with insurance. Changing the subject slightly from Mot's, recently a mate of mine crashed his car in to the village power pole and both blacked out the village for 48 hours and wrote off his car. He was driving pissed.
He rang the insurance to cancel his policy and they asked why he wasn't claiming for the damage. He pointed out that he was pissed and had been arrested (couple if month later he was given an 18 month ban) and they said thats okay sir, claim anyway and paid him out 4k.
the power company also paid him £120 ish compensation for the 48 hours with no electricity.

In reply to BigBrother:

My car failed its MOT on thursday exhaust bracket had snapped and needed to be rewelded. MOT Retest was free.

The garage gave me the option of them fixing it or me collecting the car and taking it somewhere else to be repaired. The fix cost me £30 so got them to do it and car was fixed and MOT'd within the hour

In reply to DomClarke:

Show me a link to back that up & I will show you a transcript of a conversation between a police officer & a senior examiner from the DVSA thats says your wrong.

There is no law that can cancel the first MOT.

You would still be committing an C&U offence to drive with the failed items not fixed but once fixed you do not need a re test before putting the car back on the road.

In reply to Oceanrower:

I quoted what you said, which was clearly wrong. Didn't see your subsequent back-pedalling until after I'd posted, soz.

In reply to angry pirate:

Long time ago and I'm well over it now, but it was quite a setback at the time. Glad to hear you had better luck. Who knows, maybe if I'd had comprehensive cover rather than TP,F&T they'd have been more inclined to pay out. Capricious buggers though aren't they. I think ultimately the decision in my case might have come down to someone in an office somewhere tossing a coin.